Imagine a moment from the age of dinosaurs frozen in time: primitive birds, bees, insects, early mammals, the first known flowering plants and of course, dinosaurs, all exquisitely preserved in fine-grained fossils from China’s Liaoning Province. Volcanic eruptions killed and buried victims quickly in this dinosaur Pompeii, capturing soft, fragile features not normally preserved in fossils – notably the feathers on animals that had never been known to have them before. Now, with state-of-the-art animation to bring this lost world to life, NOVA investigates the mysterious feathered dinosaurs that are challenging old ideas about the origin of bird flight. The central character in this drama is a strange little dinosaur with wings on its legs as well as its arms. The pigeon-sized microraptor is the smallest adult dinosaur ever found, perhaps the first known tree dweller. But could it really fly? Is it the key to understanding the origin of flight or merely an evolutionary dead end unrelated to the ancestry of birds? To help solve the riddle, NOVA assembles a team of top paleontologists, aeronautical engineers and paleo-artists to reconstruct microraptor and build a sophisticated model for a wind tunnel experiment. The results have surprising implications for long-accepted ideas about how winged flight began.

Charlie will interview the most knowledgeable scientists and researchers in hopes of illuminating a new topic of study. Each monthly episode will examine different subjects of the brain, including perception, social interaction, aging and creativity.

We will also look at scientific discovery and advances in technology, in the hope that someday terrible illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s will be history.

Our special colleague on this journey is Dr. Eric Kandel.
He is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist and professor at Columbia University. He’s also affiliated with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

He received the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 2000 for his research into the biological mechanisms of learning and memory.

SUPER WHY and the Beach Day Mystery takes our superheroes on a swashbuckling scavenger hunt, complete with clues, pirates and buried treasure.

X marks the spot! Whyatt and the other fairytale buddies have found a clue leading to treasure and they need a little help! So the superhero readers fly into The Beach Day Mystery where they set off on a swashbuckling scavenger hunt adventure filled with clues, pirates, and of course, treasure! Will Super Why and his friends be able to outsmart the trickiest pirate of them all?

Educational Objectives: To learn how to figure out clues. Kids will follow the alphabet, rhyme with AIL words, and use the power to read to change the story!

The Cyberchase Summer Challenge premieres on June 29, featuring eight straight weeks of new and encore episodes, new interactive content and new outreach initiatives to help kids overcome the summer slump in math and gear up for the new school year. Tune in every Tuesday at 4pm.

Summer is a time when children are at risk for losing gains in math learning if not offered educationally sustaining activities — and the risk is greater for losing math skills than reading skills. The Summer Challenge will provide eight weeks of fun and free resources to strengthen kids’ involvement with math and problem solving all summer long.

Online:

An all-new gaming component will reveal new challenges every week to keep kids actively engaged at home.

Storytelling features will motivate kids to share their Summer Challenge experiences with others.

Come celebrate with The Biscuit Brothers, Sara Hickman and Invincible Czars as they headline nearly two dozen music acts at Austin’s premier music festival for children. Steel drums, bagpipes, maricahis, musical hayrides, food, crafts and much more. Clifford, the Big Red Dog will be there for the kid’s enjoyment. Come stop by the KLRU booth and make a musical instrument that your child can decorate and take home, along with resources for the family.

Directions: Pioneer Farms is located at 10621 Pioneer Farms Drive in northeast Austin, just east of Interstate 35. Exit I-35 at Braker Lane, go east and follow the signs. From Parmer Lane, a mile north of Braker, go east to Dessau Road (third traffic light), turn right and go to Braker Lane East (first traffic light).

On Saturday, March 27, 2010, six child care providers, their friends and family gathered in the Austin City Limits Studio to be celebrated as outstanding caregivers in Central Texas. Melissa Huber, 2008 Central Texas Child Care Provider of the Year, presented a short training on conflict resolution using A Place of Our Own/Los Niños en su Casa parenting series. Kierstan Schwab, Executive Director, Texas Public Broadcasting Association, discussed the role TPBA has had in early child care. After a catered lunch, the providers viewed a short KLRU-produced video on the 2010 Central Texas Child Care Provider of the Year, Brandi & David Hitchcock of Austin TX. To wrap up the celebration, Bill Stotesbery, KLRU’s CEO presented each caregiver with a certificate and a bag of gifts as our way of saying “Thank you!”

Congratulations to the following caregivers: Christine Baird, from Kyle, TX; Tony Bingham, from Austin, TX; Martha Carrillo, from San Marcos, TX; Margaret Coose, from Austin, TX; and Linda Woodard, from Pflugerville, TX for being selected as an outstanding caregiver in Central Texas!

Photos from the event:

Video profile of Brandi & David Hitchcock, the 2010 KLRU Caregivers of the Year winners.